By Joseph O’Sullivan for Destination Calcio

Pisa are back in Serie A for the first time since 1991 and we are here to make sure you know exactly what this club is all about.

Who Are They?

Much more than just a tourist hotspot, Pisa is home to this historic football team founded in 1909 as Pisa Sporting Club. Like many Italian clubs outside of the traditional heavyweights, their history includes promotions, relegations and going out of business a couple of times.

Like Inter and Atalanta, Pisa play in black-and-blue stripes and are known as the Nerazzurri.

Following financial trouble the club was reborn as Pisa Calcio in 1994, and again in 2009 as AC Pisa 1909. In 116 years they have managed a promotion or relegation on average once every 3.8 seasons, spending time in the top flight, but also as low as the fifth tier.

Filippo Inzaghi led them to promotion from Serie B last season but his fellow former Italy international Alberto Gilardino has been handed the task of leading their eighth assault on the top flight. Inzaghi left for Palermo.

The city itself, known for the Leaning Tower, is tucked 15 minutes inland from Italy’s north-west coast. The Arena Garibaldi sits proudly in the city centre, can hold up to 25,000 (14,000 approved) and was opened in 1919.

How Big Are They?

They have a strong local fan base but even during the success of last season their average home crowd was under 9,000. However, an average of almost 1,000 fans at every away game shows they have a die-hard travelling support.

Pisa have been gone from the top division for 34 years. Before kicking off in August they will have spent as many years out of the professional divisions as they have in Serie A – seven. They have had two years in the fifth tier, in the 1950s and in the 1990s. They have played 38 years in Serie B and and the same in Serie C.

In 1921 Pisa lost to Pro Vercelli in the final of the Italian Football Championship. This is the tournament we know as Serie A today. It was Pro Vercelli’s sixth of seven titles, and the closest Pisa have been to being crowned national champions. They did beat rivals Livorno in the Southern Italian final at least, the game which acted as the national semi-final.

Pisa being back in Serie A is a good story and a breath of fresh air for calcio fans.

What Has Been Their Greatest Achievement?

Pisa do have some international silverware in the cabinet as two-time winners of the old Mitropa Cup, a tournament also known as the Central European Cup.

They claimed the trophy in 1986 and again in 1988, beating Hungarian opponents in the final both times. The competition was one of the first major European club tournaments. It was played between teams from the successor states of the former Austria-Hungary, and held a lot of importance for teams from the east.

Domestically, Pisa won Serie B in 1985 and 1987, so that period in the mid to 1980s was by far the most successful in their history. They were Serie B runners-up in 1990 and Mitropa Cup losing finalists the following year.

Who Are Their Cult Heroes and Big Names?

The Arena Garibaldi is also known as the Stadio Romeo Anconetani, named after the club president between 1978 and 1994. Anconetani oversaw a rise from Serie C to that successful spell in the 1980s.

Another famous honorary club president was a dog, a German Shepherd called Gunther. His role included barking at away fans. Yes, this really happened.

Brazil’s 1994 World Cup-winning captain Dunga played for Pisa in 1987-88 after arriving from Vasco Da Gama on what was his first stop in Europe. He would go on to have a bigger impact playing with Fiorentina.

Former Argentina international Diego Simeone, the Atletico Madrid boss, also made Pisa his first European stop, joining in 1990 from Velez Sarsfield in Buenos Aires. Simeone won the Copa America with Argentina in 1991, having been relegated with his club, and after two campaigns at the Garibaldi went on to play for Sevilla, Atletico, Inter and Lazio.

Why Should I Visit?

For all of the above, Tuscan cuisine and some sunshine. It’s not a hard sell. Pisa is an old university town with beautiful ancient walls, botanical gardens and riverside walks.

It has history, culture and cuisine in abundance, and if that is not enough its location is also perfect for day trips to scenic nearby places such as Lucca, Cinque Terre and Viareggio.

Plus, you can tick off one of the world’s major landmarks just metres away from watching Pisa play in the top flight. The Leaning Tower in the historic Piazza dei Miracoli is a UNESCO World Heritage site and so close to the Garibaldi.

Tuscany is famous for traditional soup dishes, usually made with tomato and cannellini beans. There’s also pici, a hand-rolled spaghetti type pasta usually served with garlic sauce or ragu. Cinghiale, or wild boar, is another speciality in these parts, and street snacks include the pork-filled panino; perfect with a birra on matchday.

Joseph O’Sullivan